Making Things Equally Difficult

May 2018

BUNCOMBE COUNTY

While negotiations continue, Uber drivers will no longer pick up passengers at Asheville Regional Airport. Ride-share drop-offs are still permissible. Uber made the decision following changes the airport claimed were designed to reduce congestion at “the curb.” The airport decided to charge Uber and Lyft drivers $3.50 per pickup; taxi drivers would be charged $2.50. Uber drivers would also be required to drive clearly-marked vehicles and meet their passengers in a specific lot with keycard access for tracking usage. Any Uber driver caught in an unmarked car or loitering on-premises would be fined. Ride-share drivers believed $3.50 cut too much into their profit margins to justify picking up passengers, and neither Uber nor Lyft opted to handle those fees at the corporate level; both companies already pay the airport $7000 a year for driver access. Coming from another angle, cab drivers have been complaining to local authorities about Uber drivers undercutting their business. Cab companies can’t match Uber pricing because the law requires them to purchase certificates of public convenience and necessity for each vehicle each year, perform background checks on all drivers, have their cars inspected by the city’s Fleet Management Division, produce proof of commercial insurance, and pay airport fees on top of that.